English Essay

Browse the following the PechaKucha (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., TED (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., and Ignite (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. websites and watch at least three presentations (ideally one from each site) that spark your interest. As you watch these presentations, consider what tools the presenter is using to get his or her point across. Ask yourself, for example: What kind of graphics did the creator use to engage me visually? What other ways did this presentation engage me – did it incorporate audio? Video? Still images? Live speaker? Other means? What tools did they use to convey information and what tools did they use to engage or entertain the audience? What did the creator of the talk do to move the presentation along so that it could fit into such a brief amount of time?

On a separate document, copy and paste the URLs of the presentations you watch. You do not have to post notes on the presentations, but be prepared to share your findings with the class.

After you have looked at some sample presentations, start thinking about topics and primary sources related to the course theme that you find interesting. When thinking about your primary source, it will be important for you to keep the following four standards in mind. Successful primary sources will:

• Demonstrate a high level of cultural capital
• Connect to contemporary social and cultural issues
• Allow for complex yet manageable analysis
• Connect to your topical interests

On the same document as your URLs, write a short description (300-400 words) of the types of primary sources you might want to work with this semester. You might use the following questions to guide your thinking about primary source selection:

• What is most interesting to me about our course theme? How might this course theme relate to other topics I’m interested in?
• Why is this course theme important? Where have I seen examples of this theme?
• What kinds of sources am I most interested in working with (text, image, video, audio, etc.)? Where might I go to find these types of sources?
• What kind of images may relate to the course theme and to my ideas about primary sources?

Along with the written portion, post two to three images. They could be images of specific primary sources that you’re considering using, or the types of sources you’re interested in. Be ready to discuss in class the process of finding images about the topic(s) you’re considering working with in this course. How have these images and the search for them affected your ideas about your potential project? Be sure to cite these images using what you learned in chapter 2 of The Writer’s Companion and the handout entitled “How to Find and Identify Images for Your Symposium Presentation.”